hand brake question?

[2002v8]

ok so i have put new handbrake shoes in have checked the cable and have tried to tighten the hand brake but still getting nowhere when its tight enough i can't get the disk on but then if i loosen it a tiny bit it only just gets on but won't lock very well, is there anyway to tighten the hand brake without having to remove the disk ? its driving me up the wall

 

[2002v8]

ok so i have put new handbrake shoes in have checked the cable and have tried to tighten the hand brake but still getting nowhere when its tight enough i can't get the disk on but then if i loosen it a tiny bit it only just gets on but won't lock very well, is there anyway to tighten the hand brake without having to remove the disk ? its driving me up the wall

or is there anyway to tighten the cable ?

 

[Number4]

Sometimes the rotor won't slip on because the parking shoes are ****eyed and not centered on the backing plate.
May not be the issue, but look real good at it to make sure it's centered and "a-symmetrical."

 

[BigRondo]

Install with parking brakes loose or you will have trouble getting the rotors on.

I recently had to adjust mine in order to pass inspection.

I jacked the rear up and had it on jack stands so I could remove both wheels. I took the rotors off to inspect the E-Brake shoes and hardware and to also check what direction to turn each star adjuster for proper adjustment and to make sure the adjusters were spinning freely . I have yet to find a rubber grommet to stick in the hole.

I actually adjusted both sides with the wheels off. On the passenger side the star adjuster gets turned up to tighten. On the driver's side the star adjuster gets turned down to tighten.

Here is a shot of the driver's side adjustment window, as outlined by the red arrows. The yellow arrow points to the star adjuster:

Here is a close-up of the driver's side adjustment window:

Hope this helps out.

 

[2002v8]

Install with parking brakes loose or you will have trouble getting the rotors on.

I recently had to adjust mine in order to pass inspection.

I jacked the rear up and had it on jack stands so I could remove both wheels. I took the rotors off to inspect the E-Brake shoes and hardware and to also check what direction to turn each star adjuster for proper adjustment and to make sure the adjusters were spinning freely . I have yet to find a rubber grommet to stick in the hole.

I actually adjusted both sides with the wheels off. On the passenger side the star adjuster gets turned up to tighten. On the driver's side the star adjuster gets turned down to tighten.





Here is a shot of the driver's side adjustment window, as outlined by the red arrows. The yellow arrow points to the star adjuster:

Here is a close-up of the driver's side adjustment window:

Hope this helps out.

did you make these holes ? how did you make them, what gen is your explorer my one does not appea
r to have them

 

[Number4]

On my 04, the knock outs were there, but wouldn't knock out. I used a 1 inch hole saw to drill mine out. I believe it was 1 inch, whatever matched the size of the knock out.
My 1st attempt was to pound it out, mangled the backing plate enough to make it rub.

 

[broncojunkie]

I would be extra careful with these backing plates. I've got one needing replaced and it's a big job. I had some problems with getting my rotor on, as well. I ended up loosening the shoes and taking a mallet and tapping the shoes to get them centered pretty well. Got the rotor back on, set the brake a couple times and then released. Removed rotor again, tightened shoes, put rotor back on. I think I did this a couple times. This should automatically center them while leaving them in the correct position to get the rotor back on after tightening them. I was able to tighten the shoes without removing any of the backing plates. Hope this helps and good luck. Take care of all that stuff back there, because it's a pain to work on.

 

[extsp2]

Sounds like you might have a rust ridge on the rotor that you have to get the shoes past before you can adjust them. If you poke the knockouts out without killing the backing plate so you can adjust them after putting on the rotor that would be the way to go, if not you can either find someone to machine the inside of the rotor (there are still shops out there that will machine rotors and drums) or replace the rotor. If you do the knockouts make sure you cover the hole when you're done so it doesn't fill up with road debris. You can get the rubber plugs with the replacement parking brake hardware kit or the Ford dealer.

 

[BigRondo]

did you make these holes ? how did you make them, what gen is your explorer my one does not appea
r to have them

Actually, my mechanic knocked them out. I can ask him what his procedure was and report back.

 

[2002v8]

Actually, my mechanic knocked them out. I can ask him what his procedure was and report back.

hey mate awesome thanks for that, i just knocked mine out and now my handbrake is perfect, cheers for the help

 

[BigRondo]

Glad you got it sorted and thanks for the update.